


DIRT

by panterrarty



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Betrayal, Blood, Blood and Violence, Child Abuse, Dirt!Levi, Disturbing Themes, Drama, Drug Abuse, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Exploitation, F/M, Family, Gangs, Hurt, M/M, Master/Slave, Multi, Murder Mystery, Noble!Erwin, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poverty, Psychological Torture, Rape, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence, Slow Romance, Torture, hunger, mafia, thieves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2018-10-30 03:51:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10868493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panterrarty/pseuds/panterrarty
Summary: For the truly wronged, real satisfaction can only be found in one of two places: absolute forgiveness or mortal vindication.This is not a story about forgiveness.So sit down, grab a drink and let me tell you the story about a man, who could not forgive...----In this world the elite called "the nobles" holds all the power. They live in the big cities, have all the rights to do whatever they want to anyone but of course to another noble.If you are not a noble you are considered low and have no rights. The non-nobles are called "Dirts, who live in slums, trying to survive in a place with terrible diseases, constant rape, murder, abuse, hunger, thirst.To kill, beat or rape a dirt is not considered a crime, because they are no human to the elite, just objects to do whatever with.If a dirt want to have a better life, that dirt can offer himself up as a slave at the trading markets for other nobles. If a noble buys a dirt and makes him his slave, that dirt will get an ID and a name chosen by his owner. He will live under the roof of that noble, obey to every order and please his new master until death.Summaries are real shit....ugh...





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, it's me again~
> 
> This is my first attempt of a longer fanfic. I tagged some upcoming themes, some of them (most of them) won't be featured in the prologue, but I wanted to warn you guys before you start reading something that will most def turn veeeery dark. Things will be very explicit, very disturbing, so if someone is triggered by e.g. rape or violence, I recommend not to even start this. This won't be a fluffy love story, it will be very emotional. The characters will be dark too, well, most of them. 
> 
> This AU is pretty dark. So let me introduce you with the world's concept :  
> In this world the elite called "the nobles" holds all the power. They live in the big cities, have all the rights to do whatever they want to anyone but of course to another noble.   
> If you are not a noble you are considered low and have no rights. The non-nobles are called "Dirts, who live in slums, trying to survive in a place with terrible diseases, constant rape, murder, abuse, hunger, thirst.   
> To kill, beat or rape a dirt is not considered a crime, because they are no human to the elite, just objects to do whatever with.  
> If a dirt want to have a better life, that dirt can offer himself up as a slave at the trading markets for other nobles. If a noble buys a dirt and makes him his slave, that dirt will get an ID and a name chosen by his owner. He will live under the roof of that noble, obey to every order and please his new master until death.   
> Slaves have the rights to work if the master should allow so. With the valid Slave-ID they can enter the cities, work in low paid jobs like supermarkets, cleaning services etc. The master decides the job.
> 
> I hope this little info about the world makes sense. It will be very important for the story. 
> 
> Please consider that I am not a native speaker in English, so a few (lot) mistakes might be somewhere hiding from my (pretty tired) eyes. 
> 
> Still I hope you enjoy the prologue, which I kept a bit shorter!
> 
> XOXO  
> Panterrarty

The room was cold. But he wasn’t freezing. The tobacco smell was in the chilly air. But he didn’t really care anymore, he had gotten used to it by now. He was sitting on a basic wooden stool in the middle of an empty room, surrounded only by darkness and this disgusting smell of tobacco he hated so much since his childhood days. But today the hatred was fading, becoming a fog, which was hovering around him like the stinking smoke of the cigarettes in the darkness of the night.

Dust covered every corner, every windowsill, making everything look abandoned. The once green wallpaper was ripped, falling off in pieces. The furniture not even covered with a white blanket like in the rest of the rooms. But this room wasn’t important after all. The man was staring into the distance, eyes unfocused, waiting for the conclusive moment.

He sighed, leaning forward. _You’re just a dirt!_ He shut his eyes. _You don’t even have any rights to be here!_ He rubbed his eyelids, massaging them. _A shame for his family..._ A small smile formed on his lips. Not out of joy, but more of resignation. He sighed again standing up and moved closer to the dirty window. It was a pitch black night, nothing unusual for a new moon, everything covered in darkness. Just as he liked it most. Everything had to be dark, black...The darkness had formed him after all, it was his best friend, a steady companion in his miserable life. And why not? It always had been there, consoling him when he hadn’t been able to sleep due to misery and pain. It never had taken away his secret desires and fantasies. With the darkness he could be free, he could be himself, he could be normal. The darkness of the night had always welcomed him with open arms, never pushing him away. Without it he couldn’t exist. It had become his personal drug…well...one of them...

“Junkie”, he laughed out, but stopped immediately, frozen in a moment, a little memory of the past. It had been a long time since he laughed about himself, since he let out a genuine laugh. Just for fun, enjoying himself. But maybe he could laugh more often now...or was it just the irony of his damned life, repeating itself over and over and over again, never leaving the cycle of hatred and despise.

He opened the window, cool air filling the room in an instant, refreshing it from that terrible smell of cigarettes. But still the hatred was there, he could feel it itching in his fingertips, not ready to let him off the hook just yet. He inhaled the fresh, cool air deeply before turning on his heel and seating himself back on the wooden stool, folding his arms in front of his chest loosely. _Do you really think you can make it?_ He loosened his arms even more, rubbing his hands, fingers. So sticky. _He is so fucked up in his head! He is a psycho!_

His cellphone hummed in the pocket of his black jacket. He didn’t pick it up, but still put his hand in the pocket, taking the buzzing phone into his hand, holding it tightly. He knew it would ring again. _He_ would try to stop him, he was sure of that. Maybe it would be nice to hear his deep, rough but still so charming voice one last time. The phone stopped buzzing, the vibration coming to a still in his small hand, as he took it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. Yes, it had been him. Of course, who else would care as much as he did? But he didn’t want him to care; he wanted him to stop thinking about him. And yet, it felt so good being the one person who occupied his mind in that moment. He sighed, knowing that the phone would start buzzing again in a few seconds, minutes, trying to bring him back to his senses…

 _Where have you been? All those years! I hate you! Go fuck yourself!_ He stood up abruptly, going back to the open window to stick out his head, inhaling the fresh air again. It smelled so good, felt so chilling on his pale skin, cooling his mind. At the horizon there could be seen a few hints of stripes of color, announcing the upcoming sunrise, trying to conquer the darkness and bring back light and life to the world, joy and love. Far away in the distance the faint sound of sirens and dim flashing lights in red and blue cut the deceptively peaceful mood of the dawn.  
The buzzing phone in his hand cut off his thoughts. This time he picked up, holding the small device to his ear. He was able to hear the person on the other side breathing. Calm. Steady. He wished that he could be here right now, next to him, close, skin on skin, but on the other hand he wanted him so far away from him as possible. He knew that it had been a bad idea to pick up the phone, but his heart, his cold, savage, atrocious heart only started beating when he was thinking about the only person that mattered to him.

“I don’t need to ask you where you are, do I?”, the perfect voice spoke to him through the speakers of the phone. It seemed calm, but he could hear the worry in that flawless baritone voice. He must have blamed himself for everything that had happened, but honestly nothing was this beautiful man’s fault, never was, never would be. It already had started before him. It wasn’t his fault that it got worse after meeting him.

“Probably not.”, he reached out his hand into the air, pinched his eyes. Red.

“Why couldn’t you just let go, my love?”

“I just couldn’t.”

“You were finally free. Had a good life, a better one than before. But still….”, listening to his voice he put two fingers in his mouth, something he never would have done, if his mind wasn’t occupied with that voice. Metallic taste on his tongue.

“What happened, happened. You can’t change the past.”

“No.”, he admitted. “But the future…”

“Levi-!”, hanging up before that tantalizing voice could bring him back to senses, which were already beyond reach, he took out the phone’s battery pack and SIM-Cart, taking a swing and tossing them together with the cellphone out the open window. He wouldn’t need it anymore anyway.

Slowly the rays of the rising sun infiltrated the sky, which was getting brighter with every passing minute. The darkness had almost been defeated, the sun was pushing it back so itself could reach the throne, sit on it and shine bright to bring light and joy to the world.  
He turned around, sitting back on the wooden stool and looking down to his hands, discovering the mess he had made during the night. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath a few times. The hatred was slowly fading away, almost gone, taking every other feeling of sorrow and pain with it. Could he be free at last? A few quiet moments later he opened his eyes, directed to his small hands, the sirens becoming louder by the second, disturbing the beautiful, cheerful songs of the birds in the morning.

His steel eyes were still looking at his hands. Red. Yes, red had always been his favorite color...until...Erwin Smith…


	2. Hello little Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had all started with a simple job, not quite easy in execution considering the location, but he knew, what he was capable of, so he had accepted. Find a way in, steal the desired object, leave without being noticed and deliver it to the client. Easy.

It had all started with a simple job, not quite easy in execution considering the location, but he knew, what he was capable of, so he had accepted. Find a way in, steal the desired object, leave without being noticed and deliver it to the client. Easy. The small pub in the dirt district was the place to go, if you needed some extra cash. It was illegal, a perfect place for the nobles to anonymously offer small jobs, which they themselves could not execute within legal parameters. The dirt district came in handy, because who would refuse some extra money to survive? That was of course, if that dirt made it back alive…

The same question Levi was asking himself right now. Would he make it out alive, leave the city unnoticed and deliver the package to the clients requested location? He had planned everything meticulously, he was a very good occasional thief after all and there was no lock he couldn’t pick, no safe he wasn’t able to open somehow. His height was his advantage, when it came to hiding, slipping through tight and narrow places. The long and hard years of training under bad conditions had made his small body agile, swift and yet strong. Climbing wasn’t difficult at all, he was quick at it. 

But tonight during this job he knew, he had miscalculated something or rather he hadn’t thought much about a particular factor in his plan: the man he had to rob. 

That blond giant of a man came home early from work that night, which had been unusual. Levi had watched him for a whole of two weeks, knowing every single task that man carried out during the mornings, the nights and his workplace. He was the CEO of one of the largest automotive companies, a noble born into richness with so much money that he could fill the Pacific Ocean with it. That man’s schedule was precise. He never went anywhere but from home to work and back. His dating life seemed shit, or rather non-existing. Pretty sad for a man with his good looks. But Levi didn’t care; he just made sure he got every detail of his life right to execute his plan.  
He had decided to sneak into his huge villa during night, when his guards carried out the shift change and the man himself was still at his company in his office. That was his only chance to get inside to steal the desired object of his anonymous client. It wasn’t difficult to get in. He was quick, hung up the golden framed painting in the office, which showed a neat old draft of a car. It seemed really old, valuable. But nothing he himself would want to own.

After rolling the painting up and putting it into a storage tube, he made his way out of the office, which had a distinct smell of cleaning products. That room must have been cleaned recently, and yet he could still smell the old wood of the furniture, the leather of the office chair, the books in no particular order sitting on the shelves. But then he heard the man opening the front door and entering the house. Levi had to hide quickly, but the task deemed itself more difficult with a dog involved. That moment he wondered where the hell that dog had come from. He never saw a dog with the CEO, so why now? That animal was surely no puppy he recently could have purchased. Was he watching that smelly rug for someone else? He didn’t know. But he knew that he had to be careful now. Dogs could pick up scents normal people couldn’t, besides that, they smelled disturbances. 

But unfortunately that said dog started barking into his direction, bringing the attention of the man in the perfectly tailored dark blue suit with those weird blue eyes and neatly styled hair, towards his location in a second. Levi realized in that moment, that if he didn’t act quickly he would be caught and end up being dead in an alleyway. So he moved, ran to the window to open it and jumped out. He was in luck. The room had been located on the second floor, so it wasn’t far down. He landed on his feet, rolling forward to stand up and start running to the fences. The surrounding was in high alert in seconds, the tall man jumping after him out of the window, something Levi hadn’t been expecting at all. His eyes widened with realization that he had to run even faster, because hell that giant was fast! He climbed up the fences, reaching to the top. The man was shouting, cursing and reached him quickly. An arm extended out to catch his feet, but Levi was faster to jump of the fence to the other side just in time to escape his large hand. 

Levi didn’t even look back, just started to run again and made his way deep into the woods. What he didn’t know, was that the man knew these woods better than his neighbors did. The giant used to jog here during summer time, so he had no difficulties to run and chase him, after the tall blonde had climbed the fences, still shouting to his imbecile guards, who now realized what was actually going on, jumped down and landed not so soft like Levi did before on the dirty ground of the other side. Levi wasn’t stupid; he had some tricks up his sleeves just in case of an emergency and now was the time to play some tricks to get rid of that blonde titan. 

Chasing Levi wasn’t easy, he was swift and the CEO tried his best to catch him, but one false move, a misstep made him fall. So he thought. It actually had been one of the hidden wire ropes stretched between to trees, which the thief had placed a few nights before. And they really came in handy. The man fell forward, not being able to catch himself due to surprise. Levi couldn’t hold back and stopped for a second, looking back at the man, who was groaning in pain. Their eyes met for a few moments, steel locking with blue, before Levi smirked and ran off deeper into the woods. 

There was no chance in hell that Levi would get himself caught. He even planned his escape route out of the city to get back safe and in one piece to the dirt district he called himself home. What a shitty home it was, but still, a place he had to live in. His way back was uneventful, no one was following him, so Levi allowed himself to take of his mask so he was able to breathe in the air, which was still fresh outside of the dirt district.  
Upon arrival at the venue to exchange the stolen good for the proper payment the smell of the air was getting nauseating by the second. It was close to the border of the dirt district, so no wonder it smelled shit. Two goonies arrived ten minutes later to collect the painting, which was resting securely in its storage tube. They looked him up and down, one of them making a face as if Levi was the filthiest thing on earth. Well, he was a dirt after all, but still he probably was cleaner than those two bodyguards. Their shoes were muddy, their clothes not even ironed, a weird odor of cheap aftershave was surrounding them. They must have been slaves themselves, former dirts, who tried to have a better life, to protect the life of a noble who in return wouldn’t even lift a finger, if something might happen to them. 

Levi handed over the tube for inspection. One of the men took it without even checking the content, he just nodded and handed over a small envelope with the money in return. Lifting a slim eyebrow Levi looked confused for a second but if those men were idiots not to check the content, well, it wasn’t his problem. He just took the money, counted it and gave a satisfied nod before receding. He left with the money and made his way back to the dirt district, choosing an underground route through the canalization. This way was more secure for a person carrying money with him. No one liked the canalization route, of course not, who would ever love to stomp through human excretions to get to their desired destination? 

And of course Levi hated it, but he had to be smart and not get himself caught by the countless gangs of the dirt district. The money was important, not just for buying food and clean water, but for his own secret hobby and small business of selling custom made poison. Poison was a dirty weapon, but very effective and deadly, if you wanted it to be and most of his customers needed it to be exactly that. But he also mixed some other stuff just to inflict some burning or a little pain. He could offer a range of interesting little mixtures. His favorite being the one he so lovingly called “The Crow”, its ability being a very slow and painful death. During the process of dying the poisoned person would revoke old reminiscences, some of them almost forgotten, secrets of his dark past or just some sweet memories. It didn’t matter what it was, but still you could be a witness of some very obscure mysteries. And Levi loved to watch his victims, if it was him, who had injected them with the Crow.  
And besides the love for some fun poison, Levi had a very sensitive nose, he could smell a variety of different things and pinpoint the exact ingredients of that scent. This gift was special, inherited from his family, which unfortunately was already dead. All of them, leaving him alone in this cruel world. He only knew about on other family, which had the same gift as his: The Zacharias Family. He met them once or twice, but that was a very long time ago…

But this so called gift could also be a curse, like now. He had to put a cloth around his mouth and nose to stop the smell of shit and human remains from seeping into his nose and driving him crazy or throw up. Thank god, he was quick on his feet and made it through the canalization to the end, where he climbed up a small ladder to reach a lid and open it. He climbed out, closing the lid and turned around to check, if he was alone in the short alleyway. The luck seemed on his side today, he even had made it back without being caught from that tall giant he just had robbed a few hours ago. He probably didn’t even need that shit of a painting anyway. Fucking nobles…

Upon reaching the dilapidated building, where his small one room apartment was located, Levi ran up the stairs to his floor. He could smell the mold, the decaying wood and blood. He heard a woman screaming, a baby crying, someone shouting. The everyday sound of the apartment building he lived in for about five years now. His old apartment couldn’t even be called one. It was so tiny, not even a table and a bed could fit in. But that hadn’t changed much. His new flat was a bit bigger, but he still didn’t have a proper bed, just a small couch he slept on. The rest of the room was occupied with a workstation, where he mixed the poison and stored all different kinds of ingredients. He had an area to cook and clean himself. There was no bathroom, just a small toilet. And even if he had a shower or some kind of sort, the water wouldn’t have been clean anyway. It was dirty, not suitable for consuming or washing clothes or the body. Levi knew that the water contained a lot of chemicals and human waste. So why would he even think about drinking shit like that. 

Levi unlocked the door, entered and closed it behind him again. He checked the locks just to make sure no one could invade his private home. With a sigh he stripped down to his underwear, threw the garments into a bin so he could wash them later at the river outside the district. He needed a bath for sure, but first he would do some work and make a list of what he needed to buy for a requested mix. The meeting was in two days, so he had to prepare everything in order to make the poison.

After finishing the list, he put on some fresh clothes, packed his backpack with the dirty garments and made his way to the market place. His dealer wasn’t surprised to see him again in such a short period of time, he was the only one who could smuggle the weird ingredients for Levi after all. Levi didn’t know exactly, how that man did it and where he got everything from, but he actually didn’t really care at all. It was just business and nothing more. No one needed to know the exact details and it should probably stay that way. The order was correct as always, leaving a satisfied customer and a dealer. Levi could smell the fresh street food, spicy and aromatic, which made his stomach growl. He decided to buy steamed corn and a bottle of fresh and clean water. Packing everything in his backpack, he made his way out of the district to the small river. It wasn’t actually a river, more like a little stream from near the forest, which was close to the mountains. He washed all of his clothes, scrubbed his own skin and dried himself off with a small towel, eating his late dinner or midnight snack afterwards. It had been a good day, a very successful one. And Levi allowed himself to relax and enjoy the cool breeze of the night. 

He looked up to the stars, which were shining like little diamonds in the dark night sky, letting his mind wander. He remembered his mother telling him stories about the stars, he could almost hear her beautiful voice whispering a melodic ‘Good night, my little bird’ in his hear before kissing his pink little child cheeks and turning off the lights in his room. He really missed her the most. His father had always worked his ass off, but still they had managed to have a family breakfast on Sundays. His weird uncle Kenny would come, his frail grandfather and his two older cousins with their funny mother, his aunt Lora…

Levi sighed, sat up and collected his belongings to get back to his little apartment. He had to finish the delivery after all and he knew it would take him the whole night to produce it. So back at the apartment he immediately started working. A few hours later Levi had the difficulty to keep his eyes open, they were burning from fatigue and all the other chemicals he was currently using. So he decided to brush his teeth and go to sleep. The poison was completed, so he didn’t need to worry about it anymore. After changing into his oversize sleeping shirt, he made himself comfortable on the couch, wriggling around to get into a comfy position. He rolled into a little ball like a cat, an old habit from his childhood days, and covered himself with a blanket, which was actually for children but still so soft and besides that, it kept him warm and was washable easily. Sleep came rather quick and lured him deep into a weird dream about a shadow with captivating blue eyes. 

The next two day he cleaned his apartment, mixed more poison, which made him feel like a wicked witch to be honest but he didn’t mind. Everyone was wicked somehow. And he was no different. Levi was no angel, he wasn’t innocent. When you live in the dirt district, you have to go through some extremes to survive. He had killed men but no children, had stolen from others, but he never had raped anyone, but had been raped himself. It was horrible, humiliating, but better than being killed at least…but he didn’t want to think about such things. It made his mind go dark and he needed to be focused for tonight. The delivery was scheduled for midnight in a club for nobles, not a safe place for a dirt, but he knew the client and that the man would never harm his only little poisoner. And he paid well. Enough so Levi could buy a whole weeks food supply for himself. And although he just had earned himself a big sum of cash from the robbery, it didn’t hurt having more, did it? 

The days passed quickly and Levi left his apartment after checking his pockets and securing his pocketknife in his boot. The way to the club was not quite easy, he had to climb up some buildings to avoid security guards and reach the town. He opened a window on the third floor and climbed inside a corridor, knowing that the client would be coming to the dressing room upstairs after finishing his gig. The man was a popular musician, but Levi didn’t know exactly why he would need the venom. Maybe he killed during his free time or just people who wrote bad critics about him. Who cared? Well, Levi didn’t.

The small man sneaked his way to the dressing rooms, where in one of them his client would be waiting as usual. The wooden door wasn’t locked, so he just opened it and went inside. He actually expected one of the bodyguards, but the room seemed empty. Levi sighed and looked to the big mirror, to check his pale face. The bags under his eyes were prominent, always had been. Maybe he could steel some of the makeup from that man. He avoided the perfumes, they smelled expensive but still weird. The different components not had been mixed properly, but an average person like his client didn’t seem to mind.

“Hello there, little thief.”, he suddenly heard a deep voice behind him and froze. He saw a shadow move from behind a screen, on which a few garments were hung on, and reveal himself. Levi stopped breathing, his silver eyes widening upon recognition. Bright blue eyes locked with shocked platinum through the mirror as the man came closer. 

“I think, you have something that belongs to me.”, the man continued speaking in a deep, calm voice and Levi knew that he was fucked…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> puuuh, chapter 1 is up and i hope you guys will enjoy reading it! :)
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated and loved as always~! ^^


	3. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I think, you have something that belongs to me.”, the man said and came closer. Levi knew he needed to escape this room as quickly as possible. His life was in danger and the chance to get away without any harm was low.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, so sorry >.<'  
> But I was very busy with work and studies...I'll try to upload more frequently!
> 
> But now, I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though it is a bit shorter then I wanted it to be.
> 
> As always, I'm not an English native speaker, so please excuse any mistakes! I'll try to get better!
> 
> Comments & Kudos are always appreciated and loved! ♥
> 
> XO  
> Panterrarty

“I think, you have something that belongs to me.”, the man said and came closer. Levi knew he needed to escape this room as quickly as possible. His life was in danger and the chance to get away without any harm was low. But honestly, Levi was kind of confused. Why was the man here himself? Why didn’t he just send out his guards or whatever to capture him? Was that painting more valuable than he thought?  
“How did you find me?”, Levi asked, while trying to get to the window discreetly, watching the man hawkeyed. The man just shrugged and looked him in the eyes. Silver clashing icy blue.  
“Does it matter?”, he rhetorically asked back and continued stepping closer until he suddenly extended out his arm and grabbed Levis shoulder to pull him closer and reach into his pocket. Levi hissed, but the giant light-haired man still managed to take out his ID. He let go of him, so the shorter male was able to distance himself again immediately, growling at him while looking up angrily at the intruder. The blonde turned around the small ID-Card, inspecting it, before he huffed out a quiet laugh, leaving Levi annoyed.  
“I take that your name on this ID is fake, like the thing itself is, isn’t it?”, the blond said after a few moments of inspecting the card. “Or maybe if you don’t mind, I could call the stated master, who I actually am friends with.”

He looked up again. Sure, that name was fake. Why should Levi ever give anyone his real name? So they could just kill him? Or worse, use him for their entertainment? He would be valuable for the government…or maybe not…

“Do you want me to call your Master, _Ilya_? Or would you tell me, where you put my belongings without me causing a scene involving the police and your certain death?”, the man asked and took his cellphone out of the pocket of his perfectly tailored suit pants, waving the device in front of him. Levi narrowed his eyes, pressing his lips together.

“I don’t care.”, he said. “Call him, if you want. But I’m still not going to talk. And why would I?”

He would be dead anyway and if he was about to die then he would take a noble out in the process with him. Levi came closer to the window, but the man wasn’t stupid. He ran his big hand through his blonde hair and sighed tiredly.

“You can jump, if you want. But you won’t come far. My man are everywhere.”, the blonde grinned for a second and came even closer, so that Levi didn’t have any more room and hit the wall with his back, looking up at the blond titan in displease. As a big hand grabbed him at his collar, lifting him up slightly, the man narrowed his head and looked him deep in the eyes.

“Tell me, where the fucking painting is, Dirt, or I swear to you, I will –“

“What? You gonna beat me up to hell, until I think I never had bones? You gonna let your stupid cavemen gang-rape me? Been there, done it, old man.”, Levi retorted soberly and unimpressed, cutting of the man. “You should have been more careful with your stuff, dumbass, so little thieves like me can’t steal from you. But it’s your own fault. Your security is just shit.”

It was true. If the security wasn’t good enough, the house was easily accessible and welcoming for any thief in the neighborhood. And you would think that a man as rich as the blonde man would have the very best equipment for an excellent security system. But it hadn’t been like that at all. Levi had been surprised to get in so easily and unnoticed. Hadn’t it been for that stupid dog, he would have made it out as effortlessly and quickly as he got in.

While the man was talking, Levi discreetly grabbed the dark blue cravat the man was wearing, pulled him down and hit his giant head, not the best idea, but still the man was surprised and loosened his grip, so Levi was able to kick his shin and slip through under his legs. Easy escape. He hadn’t thought that the man was so stupid. But Levi knew, he couldn’t escape through the door. His men would be there waiting for orders. So he grabbed the wooden stool, tossing it at the window, which burst into pieces, flying through the air. Crouching down and grabbing the little flip-knife from his boot, he looked at the man, who had been trying to cover himself from the splinters from the window. Both men looked at each other. A small blood trail ran from his temple down, where Levi had hit his head hard. The blond seemed pissed, so was Levi. Upon seeing the pocketknife in his small hand, the man realized, what Levi was about to do. The fresh air circulated the cheap scented, slightly moldy room. It smelled of rain, heavy clouds. Levi didn’t like rain. It was messy and cold. But right now he didn’t mind. Dying in the rain wouldn’t be that bad, would it?

“Come on boy! Come at me!”, the blond said mockingly spreading his arms. The blue of his eyes turned deadly serious. “But if I go down, you will go down with me!”

“You really want to die?”, Levi grinned. “Perfect.”

And without hesitating Levi got into position and started running towards the blonde, knife ready to stab him anywhere he could reach. The impact wasn’t that hard, but he still pushed further, taking them both closer to the broken window. The blonde tried to hold his ground but as soon as Levis poisoned knife pierced his ribs, letting a painful scream fall from the giant’s lips, his resistance fell apart, bringing the man to stumble backwards. Both men fell, the blond backwards, the shorter still pushing his knife as deep as he could to damage as much as possible.

Levi gasped, feeling cool air and rain on his cheeks as both men fell out of the window, preparing himself for the next impact, which of course would be a hard one, even if he had the giant as an attenuation. He looked up, just to see that the man was biting his bottom lip, but still looking into his flashing silver eyes…

The landing was painful, for both of them, but fortunately they didn’t fall on the hard ground of the back alley, but into a big garbage container. Levi huffed out, struggling to sit up, just to realize that the man was holding him close to his own body. He smelled his blood, the trash beneath them. It was disgusting, so he needed to get out immediately. His body ached, but he didn’t remember hitting himself somewhere. Levi pushed aside the heavy arms of the man under him, who seemed unconscious. He needed to escape, but something was holding him back. The knife was sticking out with the handle out of the man’s left ribcage; blood was flooding out of the deep wound and turning his white shirt bright red.

He didn’t know why, but he stood still, instead of just jumping out of the container and leaving the scene as quickly as possible to save himself. Blue eyes opened slightly and looked at him, struggling to breathe, the man coughed, blood spilling from his full lips. Levi still couldn’t say why, but this picture reminded him of something…someone…so he hesitated. He wasn’t able to look away, the reason unknown. It wasn’t like, that he had never seen a man die in front of him or other kinds of messy gore. But the man was different…or did he know him from somewhere besides the job he did a few days ago? He was so familiar to him, but yet he couldn’t say from where.

“You fucking dirt!”, someone yelled behind him, grabbing him by his neck. The strong grip caught him off guard and before he could defend himself, the men knocked him out, Levi blacking out almost immediately, the smell of rain, a musky scent, blood and trash in his nose…


	4. The Dungeon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi turned his head around, looked into the bright blue of his eyes, which were glowing in the flickering light. He could see the hatred and the rejection clearly in them. Levi thought it to be a shame to see such hateful emotions in such a pretty color of eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh maaaaan! I truly am sorry that you guys had to wait for such a loooong ass time for me to update this >.<'   
> I'm so so so sorry! Really! Life is a weird tasting cake with a lot of stress as sprinkles for me right now. Full time job, part time job and university stuff, plus shitty health due to the stress fucked up my body and my head.   
> But I'll try to update sooner!  
> No promises, though. But maybe I'll make the chapters shorter....I don't know.....
> 
> But again, here it is, chapter 3! Yeeey~
> 
> Please enjoy, everyone! And thank you for your patients! ♥
> 
> xo
> 
> Panterrarty

** Chapter Soundtrack: [What A Wonderful World](https://soundcloud.com/pmff/what-a-wonderful-world-sharon-van-etten-juggernaut-kid) **

 

A bizarre smell was stuck in his delicate nose. Blood, old stones, dampness, but the worst was the smell of sex. The cold had already reached his bones though his still dampened clothing, his skin was paler than usual. Violet and red roses were bruising on his sickly white skin. He was shacking in his half sleep, mind in constant alarm, ready to wake up and defend himself from those bastards, even though it didn’t help a bit. But still he didn’t want to show any signs of weakness. He wouldn’t let them break him, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t allow them to break through his resistance, no matter what they did to him, he would stand his ground, show those idiots that he was not like the others. That he was stronger than all of them. He already had gone through so much shit, this was nothing in comparison.

His stomach growled, begging for food and water. Levi didn’t know, when he would get food again, but he knew that they would try to keep him alive. Barely, but still. They needed him, they needed the information only he could provide them. But he would be damned, if he said a word…

The sound of the bolts being opened reached his ears, woke him up and made him alert again. Levi raised his head slightly to look what kind of visitor he would have today. But to his surprise, it was a completely new person, he never had seen before. A man in a white coat entered the room…or wherever he was currently located. The man was a doctor, no doubt. His face was crunched up in disgust. Levi didn’t blame him, it smelled disgusting in here indeed. But it wasn’t just the smell, it was Levi, the dirt, he was looking at with that face. Levi sighed internally, ignoring the guy, who was coming towards him, while putting on latex gloves. The smaller male was sitting in a corner of the room, hunched in his position to keep the little bit of warmth he had left in his small, tortured body. The doctor didn’t pay much attention to him, only here to do his job, he extended his arm reaching for Levis chin to turn his face towards him roughly. After examining his face, he checked his pulse, looked into his eyes with a blinding light and made two little notes on a small notebook. Levi was a bit confused by the weird and harsh checkup he was being put through. Either this doctor was a bad one or the Dirt in front of him didn’t matter enough to be checked out properly. Probably the latter…The doctor smelled of disinfectant, antibiotics and cheap cologne. After a few minutes he let go of Levi, stood up and demanded a blanket, warm soup and bread for Levi before turning around and leaving his dungeon.

Levi blinked a few times, his eyes tired and still flashing after that dumb light thingy. He was confused, didn’t know what that had been about. What kind of a doctor was he? Shaking his head lightly, he sighed and looked back up, as the door was opened again and a man brought a tray with a steaming cup of soup, bread and fresh water with him, a small blanket under his arm. Levi was surprised, hadn’t thought that the so called doctor would keep his word. His stomach growled impatiently and Levi didn’t waste a minute and started eating. He didn’t even try to enjoy his meal, only devouring it within minutes. It really felt good, warming up his insides immediately. The blanket wrapped around is little body was a blessing. But still, he reminded himself not to give in into this false feeling of safety. He couldn’t allow himself to get caught up in it. It would be fatal…

Two more days past, in which he had to endure the disgusting smell of those pigs. His behind was hurting due to the lack of hygiene. Only one bucket was given to him to do his business, which to this day hadn’t been emptied, so the smell had filled the entire room. Levi tried not inhale the scent, but it was hard not to. By the last two days he finally got used to it a little, but still, it was horrible for his delicate small nose. He had to endure everything they put him through; he needed to survive, to show them, that he wasn’t weak. But after a few days his own body was starting to betray him. He got weaker by the hour, his energy level lower. He had to force himself to not lose his mind, to not hallucinate.

As the door was opened after two more days, he didn’t even lift his head to take a look at his visitor. It was pathetic, yes, but he couldn’t find the energy to do so, he already had reached his limits and started counting this last days or even hours.

“Hello, Dirt!”, he heard a rough, but still velvety voice. It didn’t sound threatening like before in the dressing room of the club, yet it was dominant and present. This time Levi lifted his head only to see how Erwin Smith entered the room with two of his men, who were helping him to sit in front of him onto a wooden chair.  He didn’t look healthy at all. No surprise to Levi, who had had poisoned him a few days ago.

“I hope you are thankful for my hospitality, little rat.”, the man said, pressing a hand to his wound on his ribs. The bandage seemed fresh, yet the wound was already festering through it. It definitely didn’t look good. Levi was amazed that the man was still standing. Others would have been hallucinating by now and not even able to move much. But this guy seemed tougher and stronger than the other bastards before him. “You are getting food, something to drink and are still alive.”

Levi wanted to snort as an answer, but he couldn’t find the energy or motivation to do so, so instead he chose to keep quiet and ignore the blond giant.

“Where did you hide the painting?”, the man asked again after sighing quietly, looking at him. But Levi again ignored him, looking at him with an expressionless face, like he didn’t give a damn about any word the man was saying. Another sigh escaped the man’s full lips, who was rubbing his forehead after leaning forward slightly, groaning sotto voce in pain and pressing his hand against the bandage. Smith bit is bottom lip, leaning back almost immediately. The pain was clearly visible in his blue eyes…

“You do know that you won’t get out of here as long as you don’t tell me where you put my belonging.”, the blond reminded him again about his situation and got a weak shrug from Levi in return.

“And you fucktard know that I won’t speak as long as you keep me here.”, Levi replied bored of the man trying to get through to him.

“Look at you…a shivering mess, like a starved kitten. And still you chose to be stubborn as a mule. You don’t seem to realize in what kind of a situation you currently are. “, Smith pointed out impassively and snorted softly, clearly amused.

“You don’t look that sexy yourself, old man.”, Levi replied with a smug grin on his thin lips. “How is your wound doing?”

Erwin Smith sighed again, shaking his head lightly.

“I wonder, whom I owe this to…”, blue eyes flickered in the dim light. “You know, it is up to you whether you want to rot in here or not.”

Levi turned his head around, looked into the bright blue of his eyes, which were glowing in the flickering light. He could see the hatred and the rejection clearly in them. Levi thought it to be a shame to see such hateful emotions in such a pretty color of eyes. But yet, he was sure that there was more than just hate towards the less fortunate people…he was a noble through and through...

“Make a deal with me.”, Levi suddenly offered after a few moments of silence. But a second after he had spoken, he shook his head. “No, wait, a noble bastard like you wouldn’t be so honorable to hold his end of the bargain, right? But you know what, fuck it. Let me starve, let me be tortured, raped, whatever, I don’t care. I still won’t speak.”

Levi again looked away, not wanting to see those faces of disgust and disbelief. From the corner of his eyes he could see the man looking frustrated at him, pain in his face inflicted by the wound. His men were ready, waiting for a command from their master to act and kill the little dirt, who was daring to talk disrespectfully with their employee. But Levi still didn’t care. He already had made peace with his situation and was ready to die, even though he never wanted to die from hands of disgusting noble pigs. He was a tough nut to crack, the man must have realized it by now, if he wasn’t dumb like his bodyguards surrounding him.  

“I truly am sorry to disappoint you, little dirt. But I’m indeed a man of his word. Not like the ones you are referring to.”, Smith replied and stood up from his seat, two of his men again supporting him.  The blond grimaced due to the growing pain near his ribs, pressing a hand to the wound. He took a shaky but deep breath and looked down at Levi.

“Show me that I can trust you, Dirt, and I will happily make a deal with you.”, he then offered while leaning down towards Levi closely so the little one was a few inches away from his face. The blond giant wrinkled his nose in disgust by the smell that met him, opened his lips slightly to say something as Levis small hand reached up to his collar instead with surprise, pulling the man down, even closer to him. The silver of his eyes was flashing in the dim light, they indeed sparkled dangerously, furiously.  

“No, old man, YOU have to show ME that _I_ can trust _you_ , blondie!”, Levi growled. “And don’t you dare forget that your stupid life literally lies in my hands.”, he added icily while looking into the blue of Erwin Smiths eyes, which were looking back at him with surprise and something else. As Levi was speaking, he demonstratively pressed two of his fingers into the bandaged wound at his side, earning a pained gasp from the blond. The fresh and slightly woody smell of the man, mixed with his blood pierced his nose and brain, making him slightly dizzy. It awoke a weird feeling inside him, like the night they both crashed into the garbage container. He couldn’t quite put it in place, name it. Glowing silver and deep blue seas locked together for a few seconds, which felt like forever, as they both were looking into each others eyes, both silently trying to stand their grounds, as Erwin Smith was the first to break the eye contact, signaling his men not to interfere. Levi leaned back, letting go of the man’s collar, and looked back at the wall, ignoring the man again, who raised himself with help and turned away from his little prisoner.

“Bath him, bring a bed down and clean this cell up nicely.”, he commanded tiredly. “I don’t want our little guest to feel uncomfortable down here. “

And with these words the man let himself be helped up the stairs to his own world of luxury and wealth, leaving behind Levi with astonishment. The little raven haired thief couldn’t believe what he had just heard. And again he was asking himself the same damn question: How important was that stupid painting for that man? And why, why were those brilliant blue eyes so familiar to him…?


	5. The Crow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usually Levi would have said something, would have cursed and yelled at them for their rude behaviour, but he lacked the needed energy for that and the tiny amount of energy left in his body was needed for his survival and to keep his small body intact. He was balancing alongside the edge of faint, deadly faint. His body only wanting to sleep and…no, he couldn't, he refused to die. He had to live, he had to see that bastard die himself before he did...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people~
> 
> I am really sorry for all the wait. But my life is turning upside down, right and left.  
> My health is shit, stress is fucking me up mentally and physically, but I wanted to finish this chapter and it even got a bit longer than I planned it to be.
> 
> Please, again, consider that I am not a native in English language and if you find any tipos or mistakes, don't hesitate in telling me, so I can learn from them. I might come back to correct them. :)
> 
> Besides that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter ♥
> 
> Xo,  
> Panterrarty

After the blond giant had left his little dungeon, two men had come down to grab and take him to a bathroom. But instead of doing that, they had dragged the young and weak man out to the garage and put him against the dark stonewall. They ripped the dirty, smelly clothing from his body, leaving him bare naked in front of everyone, tossing the clothes away in a small container. And before he could arm himself, they already had turned on the hosepipe. The ice cold water hammered down to his aching body, cooling him down furthermore, while Levi had to cover his face and ears, so no water could harm him in those particular areas. The rough treatment of the waterjet was merciless, but got him clean. Well as clean as he could get with just cold water. When the water was turned off, he looked up with rattling teeth, his body a shivering mess, numb from the deadly cold. He wanted to ask for some soap so he could clean himself up properly, but as soon as he opened his mouth, one of the gorillas tossed a tiny towel in his face and ordered him to move.

 

Usually Levi would have said something, would have cursed and yelled at them for their rude behaviour, but he lacked the needed energy for that and the tiny amount of energy left in his body was needed for his survival and to keep his small body intact. He was balancing alongside the edge of faint, deadly faint. His body only wanting to sleep and…no, he couldn't, he refused to die. He had to live, he had to see that bastard die himself before he did.

 

“Was it ok?”, he heard the man behind him mumble to his companion.

 

“What?”, the other asked back annoyed, pushing Levi forward, who was going weaker every passing minute.

 

“This! Mr. Smith told us to bathe him, right?”, the first one returned to clarify himself, getting back an amused huff from the second man.

 

“Yeah, sure, but he never said how.”, the second answered mischievously. Levi rolled his eyes to that answer. He would have cursed, but he huffed quietly instead. If those men had the freedom of interpreting orders, how they saw fit, Levi wouldn’t survive much longer.

 

When they arrived back in the cellular, to his own surprise, a bed had been brought down to his prison. It had everything, from mattress to blanket to pillow. The bucket for his business had been cleaned up, a new one was standing in the next corner of the prison, even clothes had been put onto the bed, even though they definitely were way too big for his little frame. But still, it was nice to see, that the man at least kept his word for wanting to keep his prisoner comfortable. The three men down here had done their jobs better than the two guys who should have given him a proper bath.

 

“Are you honks insane?!”, he suddenly heard a deep and very rough voice growl, but before Levi could react someone had taken the big blanket to cover his almost violently shivering body. The soft touch and immediate warmth made him gasp softly, providing him safety, but still Levi was bracing himself to not let his guard down. He looked up to see the two guys just shrugging, earning a loud slap to the face from the tall guy with that weird rough voice. Levi could see a grotesque scar crossing his throat, like someone had tried to slit his throat once, leaving an ugly reminder of survival.

 

“I have been gone for a few weeks and you idiots think you can just do whatever to this man? He may be our prisoner but we don’t treat them like stray dogs! Not in this house!”, the man with the scar barked pushing Levi slightly to the bed, letting him sit down.

 

“He stole from the boss!”, the second guy replied angrily, but the scar man snorted.

 

“Still doesn’t give you the right to treat him like that, even though he is a dirt!”, the man growled. “Now, get the fuck out of here! I don’t want to see you guys near him again! Piss off!”

 

And so they did, leaving Levi alone with the tall guy.

 

The smaller male surely didn’t know what the hell to think about what just happened. Did this guy just defend the non-existing rights of a dirt? Whatever the fuck that had been about, Levi didn’t let himself stay confused much longer, climbing onto the bed to find a comfy spot. He just wanted to rest, to think about nothing else but sleep…but when he saw a giant hand come closer, his body and mind got into an alarming position again.

 

“D-Don’t f-fucking touch m-me!”, he said through rattling teeth, distancing himself from the man, who, to his surprise, immediately stopped, apologizing even.

 

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to…do you want me to bring you another blanket?”, he asked after a moment of silence shocking Levi even more. The smaller male didn’t give an answer, he was to occupied trying to get his body warm again. He just wanted to sleep, rest, he needed rest, his body and mind needed it so badly, but everyone kept him from it. The warmth started creeping up his numb limbs, itching his shaking muscles. But it felt good, oh so good.

 

But yet, he wasn’t dumb. He would give in. it could still be all a trap. And he would, no, he would give in. Give and take, wasn’t it always like that? The man gave him warmth, comfort and wanted back the information about his painting. Everything goes like that. Everything obeyed this rule of this shitty world.

 

“I didn’t know Master Smith had a….guest.”, the man with the scar interrupted the silence, earning a huff from Levi in return. The man chuckled sadly.

 

“Well, ok, not really a guest guest, I suppose.”, he sighed and cleared his throat afterwards. “My name is Cenk. And…I guess I should bring you some more blankets and something warm to fill your probably empty stomach.”, he then added, nodding once before turning and leaving the cell Levi was kept in.

 

It didn’t take long before the comfortable warmth had wrapped up his small body, lulling him into a peaceful doz. He was drained, mentally and physically, so he didn’t even find the energy to arrange his limbs to a better, more comfortable sleeping position. He fell asleep in a half lying, half sitting position and well, he just didn’t care right now. His sleep was warm, cosy and relaxing, yet ink black, no dreams at all. Nothing to bother him, just a pitch black dream, nothing to remember, nothing to occupy his drained brain.

 

That the man – Cenk – had brought him dinner even slipped right passed him. But as soon as the smell of freshly steamed vegetables, rice and a chicken soup reached his delicate nose, his eyes fluttered open, his stomach growled in anticipation. But as soon as he woke up, the food wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Had he just imagined it? Hallucinations?

 

Instead the door opened a few minutes later and the doctor entered his little dungeon. How many days had passed since he fell asleep? Since he had been captured? He honestly didn’t know. As the doctor walked towards him with the same disgusted face as on his prior visit, Levi couldn’t control himself showing a small grin on his thin lips. The doctor however didn’t let himself be misled by the prisoner, for the time being at least, but as soon as a chuckle left Levis lips, he raised an eyebrow, looking at the patient in confusion, stopping in his action trying to check his temperature.

 

“What’s so funny, dirt?”, the doctor asked, holding the thermometer to his small ear to get his temperature.

 

“You are funny.”, Levi said, grinning a little. He covered his still half naked body with the blanket. He had forgotten the clothing the man – Cenk – had brought him a while ago. He made himself a mental note to get dressed after the doc had left him alone again.

 

“Why is that?”, the doctor wanted to know. Levi shrugged, looking at his nails, which he had to cut. He hated long fingernails, they got dirty easier and that was something he didn’t want. Although they called him a dirt, he wasn’t actually dirty. His nails sure never were.

 

“How is your master doing?”, Levi asked in return, looking at the doctor from the corner of his eyes. The man was pressing his lips together, averting his eyes a little. Levi could see that he was hiding something, that something was bothering the man. And he knew exactly what it was. The failure of a doctor, that sure it was. Without the right antidote Erwin Smith sure would die in a very horrible way, so not even a fully skilled and equipped doctor would be able to save him. And this one right in front of him was a special kind of stupid and stubborn.

 

“Not so good, huh?”, Levi smirked slightly before leaning back against the damp, cool wall next to the bed to have a better view of the doctor in front of him. The doctor licked his bottom lip, biting it before turning to Levi and looking at him deprecatingly, leaning forward a little.

 

“What did you do to him, you little rat???”, the man hissed at him furiously. But it only made Levi smirk a bit wider. He was silent for a few moments, enjoying having the upper hand this time. He knew that they would do anything to save their master and that meant that they couldn’t kill Levi even if they wanted to.

 

“I can’t even imagine how it must feel to have studied all those years to still be so dumb to not even recognise a simple poisoning of a patient. Shame on you, doctor.”, Levi’s words were dripping with pure hate. He shrugged slightly, while the doctor’s face turned from angry red to ghost white in one second, his eyes widening in realization and shock. Levi even could smell the icy sweat of the doctor’s shock, which had appeared on his forehead.

 

“You…”, came from the lips of the man in the with coat, before he stood up abruptly and had left the little prison with urgent steps to get back to his dying patient. Levi just leaned his head back against the cool wall, smiling faintly. It wouldn’t take much longer before he was out of this prison and on the streets again. They would be forced to take a deal with him or all of them would die. Levi didn’t much care about his own life, but he was pretty damn sure they cared about their own. But would he, Levi, do it? Would he save that man? He wasn’t so sure about that…he could just kill all of them and die in the process…shaking his head, trying to get rid of those dark thoughts. He wasn’t a murderer after all. His parents had taught him to never wish harm to anybody, not even in tricky and bad situations. And well, now he was sitting here with a poisoned man above him and mass murder on his mind…

 

Levi sighed and lifted himself up from the bed to reach out to get the neatly folded clothes, which he put on immediately before the cold air could cool his skin down furthermore. As he put on the loose shirt he heard rapid footsteps coming down the stairs, before the door opened and the gorillas stormed. A few seconds later he was taken upstairs. The treatment was harsh but he didn’t blame them, they were desperate after all. The doctor had ordered them to take him to a bedroom. As they arrived in front of a wooden door, which smelled like old oak and opened immediately, Levi entered a nice bedroom, which had been refunctioned into a infirmary with medical machines everywhere. In the giant bed was resting Erwin Smith, who didn’t look good at all. His breathing was heavy, his skin in a weird colour, sweat all over his body, the blond hair messy and damp. He didn’t look like the handsome businessman at all. Yet he was the only one to resist the poison the longest. He seemed stronger in will than anyone else he ever met. But that didn’t mean anything to him. He was still an arrogant noble, nothing more.

 

As the doctor approached his patient and revealed the poison infected wound to him, Levi knew that the man didn’t have much longer to live. If he was lucky, he would have one more day, or even less.

 

“The blood results didn’t show any signs of poisoning.”, the doctor said with clear frustration in his voice, while he changed the bandage of the supplemented wound. “How can it be? What kind of poison did you use?”

 

“Well, not every poison can be detected in the blood system.”, Levi just shrugged. “But the symptoms are clear as day.”

 

Levi laughed quietly about the stupidity of the so called doctor and approached the bed himself to have a better look at the pitiful state of the noble. A bodyguard wanted to hold him back, but in that second Smith opened his eyes and gasped silently, as dull blue eyes swimming in bloody surrounding found silver pairs.

 

“Armin…is that Armin?”, came a rough voice from dry lips, whereupon Levi immediately stopped in his movement and raised a thin brow. The blond man lifted himself up to a sitting position with much trouble, being defiant towards his doctor, who tried to bring him back into a more comfortable position and to lay down.

 

“Bring him to me…”, Erwin Smith demanded quietly and leaned back exhausted. The bodyguards exchanged a few looks back and forward before doing what they were told and pushing Levi closer to the bed. When he was standing right in front of the dying man, a trembling weak hand reached up to him, taking his little one into the bigger. Levi’s eyes widened as a faint kiss was placed on top of the back of his hand, confusing him a little.

 

“Hey, Armin…I’m sorry, that I…couldn’t come to the tournament today…”, the noble apologized to him in his delirium, while his voice was so weak and rough and yet still charming in the faint back. “I will be better soon, promise.”

 

It was so obvious that the man was hallucinating but still Levi felt something weird in his stomach while he was watching and listening to the noble. He knew that he was a father. But it never mattered, not to the burglary. He never needed information like that, if kids were present, he would choose a time when they weren’t around. So it never ever mattered, but now… did it matter? Levi looked him into the dull blue eyes, which were confusing him with his own son. It was baffling Levi and his conscious. Did he do the right thing? Was it ok to kill a father? His own was butchered in front of him, something no child should experience. But was Erwin Smiths life worth it?

 

“Tell your sister…that I love her. You guys have to say with mommy a while longer…is that ok, my sweet boy?”, Erwin Smith asked with a weak voice, struggling to stay strong. His callused fingertips brushed over Levis pale cheek before he yet again kissed the back of his hand. Normally Levi would never allow a stranger to kiss his hand or even just take it, but this situation was so different, so bizarre that he couldn’t even really process what was happening to him. It was twisting his determination to get rid of as many nobles as possible and left him in a very confusing state. He didn’t know how to react but to freeze in place. It made him feel so many weird things, made his old memories scratch at the locked door of his heart. Something in him reminded him of his own father, who had been taken away from him too soon, it reminded him of the one thing he missed most: family and love…so did he made the right choice? Did he want to leave an innocent child in this cruel, damned world without a loving father like those bastards did with him? Was he that heartless?

 

“Armin…there is no need to cry, my boy.”, the rough voice cut him out of his thoughts. Levi looked up, reaching his hand up to his face immediately to check if he was really crying. But he wasn’t crying, he had no reason to. His pale face was dry, not a single tear. Levi swallowed hard upon seeing the man spasm in pain, grimacing, while pressing his pale hand in his own.

 

“Take him away…he doesn’t need to see this…”, he then said after the cramps had left his body slightly to let him breathe again, even though his breathing wasn’t normal at all. He tried convulsively to keep his composure, but as a single drop of blood ran down his nose, Levi growled and pulled his hand away from the man. He couldn’t do it, no, he wouldn’t! He wanted to see all of those noble shitheads dead! They all had to die! They…

 

A rough grip tore him out of his murderous thoughts when he realized that the doctor had grabbed him tightly on the collar of his big shirt and pulled him away from the bed.

 

“What poison did you use?!” Tell me, so I can help him! Please!”, the man now begged. “Is this what you want? To see us beg for his life? There you have it! I beg you! Tell me what poison you have given him!”

 

Levi looked him deeply in the eye, heard in the background how the bodyguards tried to soothe the coughing and convulsing man. But Levi had already experienced too much to now change his decision.

 

"No," he said harshly. "I will not help him."

 

The doctor stared at him for a moment stunned in shock, before pulling him closer to him at his collar.

 

“Why the hell not??? Can’t you see what’s going on here!?”

 

“You’re the doctor. Figure it out yourself how to heal him.”, Levi said, his voice icy. “I give him maximum one week.”, he added before pulling away from the doctor. The smaller male looked around to see the bodyguards also stunned in shock and panic maybe. They all knew that either the staff would be sold to other houses or send away to the dirt districts if their master died.

 

“Dig a grave for him…and one for each of you.”, so Levi added again, turning away to face the door, patient to be taken back to his prison in the basement.

 

These were his final words. But the doctor shook his head in disbelief of what he just heard, so cold and heartless, a true dirt for him.  

 

“Why would you think that we would kill you after you have saved our master?”, he then asked. “You think that all of the nobles are the same, right? But they are not… but then again, I didn’t expect more from a dirt. You really live up to everything people tell about you dirts. And you guys wonder why dirts aren’t even on the food chain, why people can butcher you like cattle…but you are wrong about the nobles…at least about him. He is the most…-“

 

“I don’t give a shit about his character.”, Levi interrupted him harshly. The doctor pressed his lips together slightly, exhaling from his nostrils before sighing and turning to the bodyguards.

 

“Take him back downstairs.”, he ordered turning away to get back to working on his patient’s health. Two gorillas grabbed him to drag him down roughly. The smaller male landed back in his prison, where he sat down on the bed, covering his body with the warm blanket. But his thoughts didn’t leave him in peace, still focusing on the man above him in his battle with death. They were circling around is brain again and again, driving him mad. And to be honest, he couldn’t believe himself to make such a coldblooded decision, how carefree he had been able to just say no. It frightened him, frightened him so deeply. But he couldn’t change his mind now. It was too late…

 

_Levi…kill’em with kindness, boy_ …he heard his mother sweet voice in his head, but tried to ignore her anyway. What did his parents know anyway! They didn’t have to endure everything during all those years in the slums. They didn’t have to survive, to constantly stay alert, protect against burglary, rape, death, hunger, thirst. They didn’t know anything about his shit life, about this damned world. They had been all so naïve, so credulous, always friendly to everyone. And yet in the end it all had been for nothing but death. They died, in the cruellest way possible, right in front of him, leaving their only child alone in this world with only darkness as his friend…

 

_______-------______

 

One day passed after they had brought the dirt upstairs to Erwin Smiths room. And Dr. Martin Kolter honestly didn’t know what to do anymore, how to save his long-time patient and friend. Not even the doctors at the hospital had been able to help with their knowledge. He was helpless, his hands tied and his patient so close to death. A terrible fate for his two young children. And everything was the fault of that…

Dr. Kolter looked up as he heard a soft knock and the door opened. Cenk, the main bodyguard stepped in, his smile seemed as funny as his grotesque scar at his throat. The doctor slightly lifted one eyebrow. But the next words of the tall man robbed him of his breath.

 

“We have a deal.”, Cenk revealed to him passing him a small piece of paper with an address.

 

Levi had listen to his mother after all…


	6. The Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You tried to kill me.”, Smith spoke with a hoarse voice. “And yet you still decided to save me. Why?”
> 
> Levi didn’t answer, but shrugged his shoulder instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone,
> 
> I really am sorry that it took me like 564684654 years to add a new chapter to this fic.   
> I am struggling with a very serious health issue.  
> On top I am very stressed out with work, University and personal shit.
> 
> But enough with the excuses. I hope you guys like it.  
> I didn't edit any mistakes, but I will come back again and edit.
> 
> Side note: I am not a native in English, so please be easy on me >.<
> 
> Enjoy~  
> xo  
> Panterrarty

_He was staring out the window, trying not to think about the things he just had done. But it was hard. Especially after talking to Erwin, that beautiful bastard. He had known that taking the call was a bad idea. But he had to hear his voice, just one more time before…_

_Levi shook his head, swallowed and leaned against the mouldy wallpaper, which was torn in some areas. He had loved this room so much. But now he honestly couldn’t remember anything about it. The remaining chaos of dirt, torn paper, syringes and empty bottles weren’t exactly helping either to remember his childhood. He sighed, closing his eyes to get the image of clear oceans out of his head, to erase the deep, charming voice, that beautiful, bright smile, the warmth of tan skin, the touch of slightly calloused fingertips…_

_“Fuck!”, he growled, stepping away from the wall to kick at some objects in front of him. He could feel his throat tighten up, the tears forming in his eyes. That man had built him up from scratch and instead of thanking him, staying by his side, he had chosen those destructive feelings deep inside him. Levi never had met someone like him. It had changed him completely, to the point where he didn’t even know himself anymore. It had confused him so deeply, that he got frightened by it. This love, it was strange yet so good and so satisfying. He loved him, so much…_

_“Erwin…”, he whispered his name, running to the window, where he had tossed out the phone. That bastard was on his way. He had thought that he would hate him by now, but he still had followed him here. Inhaling the cool air, he tried to calm himself down, but it was only working partially. He bit his bottom lip, closing his eyes, but it still wasn’t helping._

_Erwin Smith was haunting him…_

 

____

 

A few days had passed after the doctor had saved his master with the Dirts final help. The household could breathe again, knowing that Smith had made it through. People wanted to punish the dirt, but they weren’t allowed to. Their master was holding them in check. Perhaps he wanted to beat the living shit out of Levi himself for poisoning him.

Levi was sitting on his quite comfortable bed, the blanket wrapped around his small frame to keep the warmth to his body, when the door to the basement opened and Cenk the bodyguard entered his little dungeon. The man had been the only one allowed to come down to check on the prisoner. He always brought him food and toiletries to keep him clean. He even emptied his shit bucket, without even saying a word.

But this time Cenk wasn’t alone. As he stepped aside he revealed a still pale Erwin Smith, who walked in with the help of his doctor, which didn’t look happy about his patient walking around. Levi lifted his head curiously and looked at the man he had been about to kill. Their eyes met as Smith sat down on a small wooden chair, which his bodyguard had brought with him. The blue of his eyes seemed stronger than a few days prior, the ill colouring of his skin had disappeared, but yet he was still a bit pale and sweaty. Smith sight looking at the dirt in front of him wrapped in a blanket. No one spoke for about a minute or two, which was a little bizarre. He just looked at him, like he was trying to figure something out.

“You tried to kill me.”, Smith spoke with a hoarse voice. “And yet you still decided to save me. Why?”

Levi didn’t answer, but shrugged his shoulder instead.

“ok…”, Smith sighed again, leaning back on the wooden chair. “Whatever your reasons were to spare my life…thank you.”

With surprise in his eyes Levi looked at the man, he had expected a few things the man could have said to him, but a thank, no, that he didn’t. Lifting a slim eyebrow, the smaller male leaned forward.

“I don’t need your thanks, just kill me and get it over with.”, he hissed at him and looked away.

“No, I’m not going to kill you.”, Smith replied.

“And what do you want then from me?”, Levi asked in return, looking back at him.

Smith rubbed his neck, he looked tired.

“I will set you free, BUT under one condition.”, he then said. Levi lifted his head to look him in his bright blue eyes. He most certainly didn’t expect that. But he was curious of what condition the man would give him. But then again, he wasn’t quite sure about his move to let him go. He had just tried to kill him and now he would set him free? Something wasn’t right.

“And what is your condition?”, Levi wanted to know.

“I want my painting back.” Smith demanded. Of course he wanted his damn painting back.

“You do know that I can’t give you any information about my client?”, the smaller male informed Smith.

“How so?”, Smith wanted to know.

“Well, because I don’t know, who my client is. Everything is handled anonymously. I choose the job, do it and deliver to get my payment.”, Levi tried to explain, before unwrapping himself from the warm blanket. Thankfully he was dressed, so he wouldn’t be humiliated again. Smith frowned and sighed. He didn’t seem to expect that answer. But he should have known that it would be easy to get back the painting, which was probably in another country already being sold to someone else.

“I don’t care, if it is going to be difficult to get it back. It will be up to you to go through that challenge. I am going to help you, as much as I can of course. But you are going to get it back.”, Smith spoke with a smooth but dangerous voice. “And if you don’t get it back, you surely can prepare yourself for your worst nightmare, young man. And I don’t play games.”

The air around them was electrified. Levi was hypnotized by those blue eyes, which had darkened with the threat in his smooth and slightly hoarse voice. He wasn’t someone, who felt threatened easily, because most of the time he didn’t give a damn about anything. But for some reason he felt his insides tense, his throat tighten. He had to clear his throat quietly before straightening his composure.

“I can’t promise you anything.”, he said and stood up from the bed.

“But I can.”, Smith replied with a smug smile on his face. Levi pressed his lips together, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“I have a condition myself.”, he then stated. One of Smith’s bushy eyebrow went up upon this.

“You don’t get to bargain with me, you little thief.”, he growled annoyed.

“Oh, I do~”, Levi grinned at him. “Otherwise you can just kill me now and you wouldn’t get your precious painting back.”

“Who said anything about killing?”, Smith smiled.

“Do I look like I care about what you are going to do to me? I already live in hell, you know.”

Smith sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.

“Fine, ok. What do you want in return?”, he than wanted to know.

“A legal Nobles ID.”, Levi demanded in exchange. Smith’s oceans widened a little, he surely hadn’t expected that. It was nearly impossible to get a legal Nobles ID, especially for a Dirt. The only chance to get one was to marry, but Smith surely wouldn’t do that. He would rather go to hell than marry a little dirty thief just to get him an ID.

“You do know that no way in hell you will get a legal ID? Wish for something else.”

“No. I want a legal Nobles ID. Or I will guarantee you: no painting.”, Levi shrugged. That seemed to upset the blonde man even more, who growled again, stood up and looked down at him like a parent.

“You will get me back that painting! And if you are successful in your task, I will consider getting you that ID.”, Smiths eyes darkened even more and Levi felt like a five-year-old child who was being scolded by his father. The size difference just added a bonus to that. He swallowed and nodded before looking him in the eyes again. Smith seemed satisfied now.

“I will know, if you don’t do your job.”, the blonde grinned again ever so slightly. Levi rolled his eyes, knowing that he would be followed. It would be stressful, but he had no other choice. He had to find the client and get back the painting, which was, in his opinion, the ugliest painting he had ever seen. And now he had to risk his life again to get the shit art back.

“So…can I leave now?”

“No.” Smith stated. “You will first of all bathe and then be properly fed. We will also provide you with fresh food and clothing to bring back home to your dirt district.”

Levi didn’t expect that, but he would say no to a proper meal and a nice bath. Smith sighed again, turned around and let his doctor help him leave the basement. Cenk smiled at him for a brief moment before nodding towards the exit.

“Let’s get you something to eat. Roberta made some nice Lasagne.”, he said and started walking. Usually Levi would be suspecting something else behind this kind gesture of Smith but he had the feeling that he really wanted him to bathe and be fed. So he followed.

And he that was the best thing he did in a while. The bath was amazing. He showered first, scrubbed his skin nearly red and then he made himself a nice bubble bath and stayed inside until his skin was all wrinkly. It was nice for a change. He always had loved to bathe, make himself fresh and clean. It was always a nightmare to wash himself in the Dirt District, because there was no clean water. He always had to go to the river, a dangerous place. And sometimes even disgusting. Some gangsters dumped dead bodies in the river, so it wasn’t surprising to see a corpse in the water.

After the bath Levi changed into some new clothes Cenk had put on the nice guest bed in the clean guestroom. It was nice to feel soft fabric on the skin, nothing scratchy or washed out like he was used to. It even smelled new out of a clothing store. Did Smith knew that he would agree

As he went down the stairs he could smell the fresh tomatoes, the meat and garlic, which were used to make the lasagne. His mouth watered a little bit, his heart started to pound from the excitement. He hadn’t had lasagne in ages. His aunt used to make great lasagne, but she was dead now…

Levi entered the big kitchen and the smell hit him in all the right places, which made him smile instinctively. He sat down at the counter bar, where a plate had already been served with a glass of fresh orange juice and a small bowl of salad. Levi took a deep breath, inhaling the different smells, tickling his nose, which was used to take in the disgusting smell of human excrements. He then started eating his meal contently.

“Tastes good, huh?”, he heard Smith talking behind him, coming closer. Levi looked up at him, when he leaned on the bar counter.

“Yeah.”, he just replied and continued eating.

“Here.”, Smith put a burner phone on the counter. “My number was saved to this phone. You can contact me, if you should need any help. And I will contact you to get updates on your statues. That’s how it is going to work. If you don’t answer my call, I will text and if you don’t answer my text within an hour, be sure to hear from Cenk. Ok?”

“What if someone is strangling me and I can’t reply?”, Levi asked.

“Well bad for you.”

“No.”, Levi shook his head. “Bad for you. You won’t get your shit painting back, if I’m dead.”

“I told you, that someone will always be watching you. That means, that this person will also make sure you are safe.”, Smiths answer made Lev roll his eyes.

“Whatever…I hope that person can keep up with me~”, he replied and wiped his mouth with a napkin, which seemed to surprise the blonde a little.

“You are not really a dirt, are you?”, the man asked, well, it wasn’t a question, more a conclusion.

“And why would you think that?”, Levi raised a slim eyebrow.

“Your eating habits for once…the way you talk…”, Smith told him his observations, which made Levi smirk.

“Or maybe I just eat and talk like that.”

“No. That’s not it.”, Smith shook his head. “What is you real name?”

Levi just shrugged, stood up from the stool and took his dirty dishes into the sink to wash them. Smith frowned a little.

“Don’t worry, I won’t break your precious plates….”, Levi said in a monotone voice. But this was more evidence for Smith that he really wasn’t born as a Dirt. But his past life didn’t matter anymore. So he really needed that ID.

After washing the dishes Levi dried off his hands and turned back to the tall handsome blonde guy, who was still leaning against the bar.

“Is there anything else you want me to put in the daily protocol for you?”, he looked at him a little annoyed.

“No. Just take the phone and leave. Cenk will drive you to the border, so you won’t have to carry the food all the way. Plus, it’s faster this way.”, Smith responded and gestured towards the hallway leading to the front door. Levi nodded and follows him. He even got him new boots. That nice, thoughtful bastard. They even where his size and on top very comfortable. The smaller male put on his new jacket, nodded towards Smith again and turned to the door. Cenk opened the door for him and went outside. As Levi walked towards the exit he paused for a second.

“Levi.”, he then said and looked over his shoulder back at Smith. “My real name is Levi.”

Their eyes locked for a brief moment, blue oceans lighting up for a second as silver met them.

And then Levi turned back around and walked out to the car, which was parking outside and had been loaded with food…his first mission being achieved.

 


End file.
